MMS Mission: 10 Years of Groundbreaking Discoveries 🚀

Some of the biggest discoveries MMS has made include:

1) How Magnetic Reconnection Works 🔌

MMS has provided unprecedented insight into the process of magnetic reconnection — when magnetic fields reconfigure themselves or “reconnect”, releasing massive bursts of energy.

Just as gravity is one key to how things move on Earth, a process called magnetic reconnection is key to how electrically-charged particles speed through space. Scientists have observed this phenomenon many times in Earth’s vast magnetic environment, the magnetosphere. Credit: NASA Goddard’s Conceptual Image Lab

Magnetic reconnection occurs in plasma, a hot, electrically charged gas that is considered the fourth state of matter. Plasma forms when gas is energized enough to break apart its atoms, leaving a mix of electrons and ions. This energetic material is highly sensitive to magnetic fields.

From the Sun’s flares to black holes and near-Earth space, plasma in the universe undergoes reconnection, rapidly converting magnetic energy into heat and particle acceleration, which plays a major role in space weather events.

MMS’s insights into magnetic reconnection around Earth help scientists understand it in other regions, such as on the Sun, which can’t be probed directly. Credit: NASA Goddard’s Conceptual Image Lab/Krystofer Kim

Key Discovery: Fast Magnetic Explosions

• SOLVED: A 60-year mystery of why this type of magnetic reconnection happens so quickly.
• By studying plasma dynamics and magnetic field configurations, MMS discovered how certain conditions trigger fast magnetic explosions, releasing energy at a rapid rate.
• These fast reconnection events are responsible for the explosive energy behind solar flares, CMEs, and geomagnetic storms that affect Earth.
• This discovery is crucial for understanding how energy bursts in space weather are generated.
• Learn more about the Hall effect, which describes the interaction between magnetic fields and electric currents.

Energy Bursts Power Space Weather

• Energy bursts from magnetic reconnection drive solar flares, CMEs, and geomagnetic storms.
• MMS mapped how energy is released into space, showing how reconnection fuels these powerful space weather events.
• This research helps improve space weather forecasting, enhancing our ability to predict disruptions to satellite systems, communications, and power grids.

Understanding Reconnection Helps Predict Space Weather

• MMS’ findings help predict the timing and impact of space weather events on Earth.
• MMS helps us understand how solar energy is transferred to Earth’s magnetosphere during magnetic reconnection.
• This research provides insight into how space weather events affect Earth’s technology and infrastructure, improving space weather prediction.

Gravity may be key to how things move on Earth, but in space a process called magnetic reconnection is key to how electrically-charged particles travel. Scientists have observed this phenomenon many times in Earth’s vast magnetic environment, the magnetosphere with the help of MMS.
Credit: NASA Goddard’s Conceptual Image Lab/Krystofer Kim

2) Reconnection in Surprising New Places 🌍

In the ten years after launch, MMS made over 6,448 orbits around Earth, passing through countless magnetic reconnection events. It saw reconnection where scientists first expected it, behind Earth, away from the Sun — and it discovered reconnection in several unexpected places.

Unexpected Locations for Reconnection

• MMS discovered that reconnection can occur in unexpected locations, such as low-latitude regions.
• MMS surprised scientists by observing reconnection in turbulent regions in front of Earth that were previously thought to be too chaotic for reconnection.
• MMS also observed reconnection in magnetic flux ropes — giant magnetic tubes formed in the wake of previous reconnection events.
• Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices, the same phenomenon created when wind blows over water to create waves, were also observed to host reconnection events.

Magnetosheath Discoveries

• MMS made the first-ever observations of magnetic reconnection in the magnetosheath — the boundary between Earth’s magnetosphere and the solar wind. This region is one of the most turbulent in near-Earth space, and scientists didn’t expect reconnection to occur there.

MMS made the first ever observations of magnetic reconnection in the magnetosheath — the boundary between our magnetosphere and the solar wind that flows throughout the solar system and one of the most turbulent regions in near-Earth space — a place it wasn’t expected to occur. Credit: NASA Goddard/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith; NASA Goddard’s Conceptual Image Lab/Josh Masters

Reconnection in the Electron Diffusion Region (EDR)

• MMS found reconnection occurring in low-latitude regions, which were previously thought to be too stable for reconnection.
• MMS also observed reconnection in the Electron Diffusion Region (EDR), where reconnection is most intense and energy transfer is most efficient.

3) Energy Transfer Through Space 💥

MMS has uncovered how energy from the Sun is transferred through space, triggering solar storms and impacting Earth’s magnetosphere.

This visualization shows an oblique view of the reconnection region. Magnetic field direction is represented by the cyan lines. The color trail represents an electron moving in the field. Color of the particle trail represents a dimensionless speed of the particle, with blue for slow and red for fast. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Tom Bridgman

Energy Flow from the Sun

• MMS mapped how solar energy flows through space, improving predictions for solar storms and geomagnetic storms that affect Earth.

Plasma Turbulence Drives Space Weather

• Plasma turbulence accelerates particles during reconnection, driving the intensity of solar flares and CMEs.
• MMS helped identify how turbulence contributes to space weather events by accelerating particles.

Small-Scale Reconnection

• MMS revealed that small-scale reconnection events play a critical role in energy transfer across space, impacting space weather.
• These events, previously hard to observe, significantly contribute to solar flares and geomagnetic storms.

4) Mapping Earth’s Magnetic Shield 🌍

MMS has created a detailed map of Earth’s magnetosphere, the protective bubble that shields us from solar radiation.

Magnetic Frontier Mapping

• MMS observed the boundary between Earth’s magnetosphere and solar wind, revealing how solar energy interacts with Earth’s protective shield.
• Key Discovery: MMS helped map how the solar wind impacts Earth’s magnetosphere, providing critical insight into space weather dynamics.

Real-Time Space Weather Forecasting

• MMS’ real-time observations are enhancing space weather forecasting.
• Impact: These observations help us better predict solar storms and their potential impact on satellites, power grids, and communication systems.

5) Expanding Our Understanding of Space and Astrophysics 🔬

MMS is not only advancing our understanding of space weather, but also contributing to broader fields like astrophysics and nuclear fusion research.

MMS’s insights into magnetic reconnection around Earth help scientists understand it in other regions, such as around black holes, which can’t be probed directly. Credit: NASA Goddard’s Conceptual Image Lab/Krystofer Kim

Astrophysical Insights

• The reconnection process observed by MMS is similar to the energy release seen in black holes, neutron stars, and star formation.
• MMS’ research helps us understand how these cosmic events occur in the universe.

Nuclear Fusion Contributions

• MMS contributes to nuclear fusion research by studying the energy release processes that can be applied to fusion reactors on Earth.

6) Space Weather’s Impact on Earth 🌍

MMS is essential for understanding how space weather affects Earth’s technology and human exploration.

Impact on Earth’s Technology

• Solar storms can disrupt communications, GPS systems, and satellite operations on Earth.
• MMS helps scientists predict and prepare for these disruptions, ensuring the safety of technology on Earth.

Impact on Astronauts and Spacecraft

• MMS is critical for understanding how space weather affects astronaut health and spacecraft during long-duration missions, such as future missions to Mars.

Why MMS Matters to YOU 🌟

Space weather impacts everything from communication systems to satellite networks, and MMS is providing the data and insight we need to predict and prepare for these events.

• Space weather disruptions can affect communications, GPS, and power grids. MMS’ findings help predict and mitigate these impacts.
• Space missions: MMS is crucial for future space exploration, providing essential knowledge to protect astronauts and spacecraft in deep space.

CREDITS: Info from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / Mara Johnson-Groh, Sarah Frazier